


everything will be alright (if I can kiss you tonight)

by spiritsontheroof



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Desi Nguyen Cares About Angus MacGyver, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Jack Dalton Loves Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), M/M, Tiberius Kovacs, coming home, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:27:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23729761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiritsontheroof/pseuds/spiritsontheroof
Summary: From the day Matty tells them it’s over to the day Jack finally arrives, it’s twelve days. And of course, it’s the longest, most mission-less twelve days of Desi’s life. They all still go to the Phoenix almost every day, to catch up on mandatory paperwork, get sparring practice, things of the nature. But by the time they’re halfway through twelve days, Desi is ready to strangle Mac. He’s been bouncing off the walls the whole time, like a kid who was given candy before bed and he is driving Desiinsane.Talking constantly, endless science experiments, asking Desi to spar all the time. She’s never seen him like this, and she almost wishes someone would launch a missile strike on LA or something so the Phoenix would have to save the city and Mac wouldstop.
Relationships: Angus MacGyver & Desiree "Desi" Nguyen, Jack Dalton & Desiree "Desi" Nguyen, Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016) & Riley Davis, Jack Dalton/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 119





	everything will be alright (if I can kiss you tonight)

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! sorry the only thing I ever write is coming home fics, it's my weakness. hope you guys enjoy!  
> find me on tumblr! https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/spiritsontheroof

When Matty tells them that the hunt for Tiberius Kovacs is over, that Jack is coming home, Desi doesn’t really think much of it. She’s happy, of course she is, but she doesn’t really have any other feelings on it other than that. She’s happy for the team, too, because she knows that she’s never really been able to fill the big shoes of Jack Dalton, whether she was technically his replacement or not. Desi always knew that, was never delusional about that, but when Riley bursts into tears and Mac drops into one of the chairs in the war room like he’s been carrying the weight of the world and it was finally gone, it’s even more obvious. Mac tears up, too, and Desi doesn’t think she’s ever seen him cry because he’s happy. 

From the day Matty tells them it’s over to the day Jack finally arrives, it’s twelve days. And of course, it’s the longest, most mission-less twelve days of Desi’s life. They all still go to the Phoenix almost every day, to catch up on mandatory paperwork, get sparring practice, things of the nature. But by the time they’re halfway through twelve days, Desi is ready to strangle Mac. He’s been bouncing off the walls the whole time, like a kid who was given candy before bed and he is driving Desi _insane. _Talking constantly, endless science experiments, asking Desi to spar all the time. She’s never seen him like this, and she almost wishes someone would launch a missile strike on LA or something so the Phoenix would have to save the city and Mac would _stop.___

_____ _

Finally, on day eight of Mac practically jumping out of his skin with energy, she asks him what his deal is. 

_____ _

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mac says after she asks, head cocked to the side in that way she was so fond of when they were together, like a confused puppy dog. 

_____ _

Desi gives him a look and rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. You’ve been all keyed up ever since Matty told us Jack was coming home and you know it.” She challenges, picking a paperclip up off the cold metal of the lab table and flicking it at Mac. 

_____ _

The paper clip hits Mac in the chest before clattering back down to the table. Mac picks it up with a glare at Desi and immediately begins twisting it between his long fingers. “I’m just excited, Des. It's been a long time and it’ll be good to have him home with me.” Mac says and then a look of regret dawns across his face as he realizes what he’s done. “With us, I mean.” 

_____ _

Desi’s face breaks into a grin and Mac groans loudly. Ever since the two of them had finally decided they were far better off as friends, Desi had been harassing him about getting out there, attempting a stable relationship with a stable woman unlike herself. And when Mac had told her he likes guys, too, well, let’s just say the pestering had gotten that much worse. 

_____ _

“Home with you, huh?” Desi mocks, ducking when Mac picks up a pen laying at Bozer’s lab station and throws it across the table, missing wide. “Come on, don’t be like that. Why didn’t you tell me you had heart eyes for Dalton?” She says, and her demeanor changes with the question, from teasing to genuinely interested. 

_____ _

“I don’t have –” he starts, but Desi cuts him off with a look that says she sees through him so Mac just sighs and looks down at the paperclip in his hands, and it’s the saddest Desi has seen him look in a week. 

_____ _

He looks up at her and tosses the paperclip onto the table. It takes her a second, but she recognizes he’s twisted it into a ‘J.’ 

_____ _

“I don’t talk about it.” Mac finally says, running his fingers through his hair. “It’s stupid, you know? And after he left it just felt pathetic to be so heartbroken, like I was grieving a relationship I was never in.” He mumbles, like if he speaks low enough, Desi won’t hear him. 

_____ _

“It’s not stupid, Mac. And it’s not pathetic. From the way he talked about you and what I've heard, you guys were close. You're allowed to miss him, even if your relationship wasn’t, you know.” She tells him and he almost looks surprised, like he’d been expecting her to confirm that it was a stupid thing to mourn. He doesn’t say anything, though, just plucks a paperclip from the box on the table and starts twisting all over again. 

_____ _

“It’s stupid because he’s never felt like that about me. I mean, why would he, right?” Mac says with a bitter chuckle. “And I could deal with that when he was here, but him leaving just made it... painful.” 

_____ _

“Did I ever tell you what he said when he asked me to come be your backup?” Desi asks after the silence starts to get too tense. Mac doesn’t look up from his paperclip masterpiece, but he shakes his head, so Desi leans forward on the table and watches Mac’s hands as she talks. 

_____ _

“I knew when I saw his number he wanted to collect that favor I owed him,” she starts, smiling a little at the memory, “and it wasn’t the first time he’d asked me to check up on someone for him while he was on a mission. But when he started telling me about you, I knew this was different. That this was important.” She leans back in her chair and kicks her feet up on the table. 

_____ _

Mac recalls their conversation during their last mission before he left, “He told me he got me the second-best cover in the world.” 

_____ _

“Exactly. That was me. That you were smart as hell and the best partner anyone could ever want, that there was no situation you couldn’t find a way out of, but you were shit at watching your own back. Said he signed up for another tour in Afghanistan because he was terrified something would happen to you if he wasn’t on your six. And he went on and on about what a genius you were, about how much he owed you. Told me that I’d better not let anything happen to you while you were gone, because he couldn’t imagine his life without you blowing it up.” 

_____ _

Mac laughs and meets her eyes, sadness almost entirely gone from them. 

_____ _

“I’ve known Jack for a long time. And I’ve never heard him talk about someone with so much... love.” Desi finishes and pulls her feet off the table. “He told me there was no way that I wouldn’t like you, because you are, and I quote, ‘the physical form of sunshine’.” 

_____ _

Mac blushes at that, ducks his head shyly with a little smile as Desi walks over to him. She puts her hand on his arm so he’ll look at her and squeezes. “I don’t think it’s so crazy to believe that he loves you. I think it’s crazy to think he doesn’t.” She tells him softly. Mac doesn’t say anything to that, so she pats his arm and leaves him alone to think. As she’s walking away, she realizes the second paperclip was twisted into a heart. 

_____ _

Mac acts differently after that. Not sad, just calm, always looking like he’s thinking, mulling something over in that big, overactive brain of his. Riley asks Desi about it once and Desi just smiles, tells Riley and Bozer to leave him be while he figures some things out, so they do. 

_____ _

_____ _

_____ _

Mac thinks about what Desi told him for days. 

_____ _

‘It’s crazy to think he doesn’t,’ rattles around his brain constantly, making him hopeful and happy and almost... content 

_____ _

Does Jack love him? Was Mac just too busy in his own head to notice it? 

_____ _

_‘You go kaboom, I go kaboom.’_

____

_____ _

____

_‘I can’t do my job if I’m worried about losing you every minute.’_

______ _ _

_____ _

______ _ _

_‘I could kiss you right now.’_

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Mac goes to bed the night before Jack’s due to arrive home and sleeps well for the first night in a week. 

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Desi gets stuck on airport pick up duty when Jack arrives home. The rest of the team is at Mac’s, decorating for Jack’s coming home party, and Desi loathes decorating, so she ends up in the middle of LAX with a sign that reads ‘Dalton’. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Jack finally ventures off the plane after an hour and when he sees her, he breaks into a smile so big Desi thinks it must hurt. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Jack wraps his arms around her before she can even say anything, lifts her off the ground and Desi can’t even bring herself to be annoyed because, okay, she missed Jack, too. So she hugs him back with no bitching and smiles when he puts her back down. “It’s so good to see you. You’ve been missed.” 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Jack picks his bag up off the ground and throws an arm over her shoulder as they walk through the airport. “Yeah? I missed y’all. How’s everybody doin’?” 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

“Everyone’s great. Healthy, in one piece. Probably because they had the best backup ever.” Desi says offhandedly as they get to the car and Jack chuckles. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

“I’m glad to hear it,” Jack says, “thank you for looking out for them. It means a lot.” He tells her after they’re in the car. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Desi grins at him and shakes her head. “I actually really liked working with them. Thanks for trusting me with them.” 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Jack nods and they spend the drive to Mac’s switching between country and hip-hop radio stations and talking about his mission, about how much he missed LA and Riley and Mac, about how he can’t wait to see everyone. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Desi just smiles, because she knows that finally, her friends, her family will be whole. 

________ _ _ _ _

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________ _ _ _ _

Mac has resumed bouncing off the walls while they’re decorating. Riley is.a lot more forgiving of it than Desi is, and Mac is thankful for her ability to keep him busy with stringing lights and getting the kitchen ready with drinks and food. He gets so wrapped up in making sure the lights are perfectly hung that he practically jumps out of his skin when the doorbell rings. He and Riley practically sprint to the door, Bozer, Matty, and Russ following behind. Riley beats Mac to the door, pulls the door open, and Jesus, Mac thinks he’s actually going to explode with excitement. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Desi steps inside first and out of the way, and then, there he is. After all this time, Jack’s finally home, finally safe, and a tear wells up in Mac’s eyes. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Riley jumps into his arms, buries her face into his shoulder and cries while Jack says something in her ear Mac can’t quite hear over the chatter amongst the rest of them. The two of them stay like that for a while, then Riley laughs and he lets her go, kisses her forehead before moving to hug Bozer, then Matty, then he shakes Russ’ hand. Then, finally, he turns to Mac. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Mac smiles at him, doesn’t even try to hide the tears on his face as Jack pulls Mac into his arms. Jack wraps his arms so tightly around Mac that it hurts his ribs but Mac doesn’t even care because he’s finally here and Mac is over the moon with happiness, heart squeezing tight in his chest. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

“I missed you. I missed you so much.” Jack whispers and Mac can tell he’s crying, too, can hear the rasp in his voice as he presses his nose into Mac’s hair. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

“I missed you, too. So good to have you back.” Mac rasps and fists his hands into Jack’s shirt. They stay like that for a minute before Mac reluctantly lets him go. “Can’t hug and cry all day. Come on, we put a little something together for you.” Mac wipes his face and Matty leads them all into the kitchen. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

It’s not much, just some lights strung on the kitchen ceiling and the deck, pizza and all the beer the seven of them could ever drink, but Jack looks like they threw him a party in a grand ballroom when he sees it. He chokes up again, wipes at his eyes and laughs. “Y’all didn’t have to do all this for me,” he says as he pulls a still-crying Riley against his chest again, smiling at Mac where he’s propped up against the kitchen wall. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Bozer informs them all that as much as he likes the cry-fest, they should eat before the food gets cold, and so the actual party starts, full of laughter and them telling Jack stories about things thay happened while he was away, and Jack keeps catching Mac’s eyes from across the table and Mac smiles for so long his cheeks start hurting. 

________ _ _ _ _

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After a few hours and a few drinks, everyone slowly starts filing out, so Mac migrates to the deck while everyone says goodbye to Jack for the night. 

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Once everyone has left and Jack has been hugged more times than he can count, he closes and locks Mac’s front door, leaning against to take a breath for the first time all night. After a minute, he goes back through the house to the deck where he’d seen Mac wander during the goodbyes. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

“Hey,” Jacks calls as he steps outside, noticeably startling Mac and causing the younger man to turn around. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

“Hey,” Mac smiles, leaning back on the deck railing, “enjoy the party?” 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Jack nods and walks over to stand next to him, enjoy the fantastic view of LA Mac’s got. “Yeah, it was really great, seein’ everyone again. Thanks, man.” He nudges Mac with a smile. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Mac shakes his head and turns to face the city. “You deserve it.” 

________ _ _ _ _

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________ _ _ _ _

Jack nods and they stand in silence for a while, shoulder to shoulder, just enjoying being together. 

________ _ _ _ _

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After a while, Jack isn’t sure how long, Mac breaks the silence. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

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“I was starting to think you weren’t ever coming home.” 

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_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

It catches Jack off-guard, like Mac so often does, and all he can do for a second is stare at the side of his face. “Of course I was comin’ home, Mac. Why wouldn’t I?” 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

Mac is peeling the label on his bottle back, fidgeting. “I just thought maybe you’d decided that LA wasn’t for you anymore. That you were ready to hang it up and go back to Texas.” He shrugs and Jack can’t believe Mac thinks he would do that. 

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

“Hey,” Jack says and Mac looks over at him – all wide blue eyes and messy hair and God, Jack had forgotten how _beautiful _Mac is – “I’d never do that to you. Ain’t nothin’ besides death that was keepin’ me from comin’ back to you.” He assures him and turns to face him completely, grabs his arm. “Nothin’ in Texas is better than what I got here.”__

________ _ _ _ _

_______ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _

Mac turns to face him and Jack is hyperaware of how close they are, so close he can feel Mac’s body heat, and it takes everything in him not to look away from Mac’s eyes. He’s looking at Jack with something Jack can’t quite place and Jack’s afraid Mac sees right through the façade he’s so carefully built around his feelings for Mac. 

________ _ _ _ _

_______ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _

Mac steps closer and now they’re touching, Jack’s breath audibly catches in his throat and Mac never breaks his gaze. Mac sits his beer aside, leaves his hand resting on the railing, fingers barely grazing Jack’s where they rest on the railing. 

________ _ _ _ _

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________ _ _ _ _

“Nothing, huh? Got everything you want here in LA?” 

________ _ _ _ _

_______ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _

Jack swallows and nods. “Course I do. Got Riley. Got my boy. What else could I want?” 

________ _ _ _ _

_______ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _

Mac holds back a smile, bits his bottom lip, and Jack has never wanted to kiss him so badly. 

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“You know, Desi told me what you said about me before you left,” Mac says. 

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_______ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _

“Yeah? She’s a traitor. I swore her to secrecy.” 

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“Something about the human embodiment of sunshine, as I heard.” Mac says, index finger resting just over Jack’s. 

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_______ _ _ _

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“It’s true. Ain’t nothing like you when you’re smilin’.” Jack shrugs and Mac flushes red, ducking shyly to hide a grin. “Don’t hide it from me now, come on. Been months since I’ve seen it.” Jack coaxes, grinning himself as reaches up, nudges Mac’s chin up til they’re making eye contact again. 

________ _ _ _ _

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They stay there like that for a moment until Mac takes a deep breath and says, “Kiss me.” 

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________ _ _ _ _

Jack doesn’t think twice about it, slides his hand from Mac’s chin to his jaw and pulls him in and Christ, Jack feels like he’s dreaming. Mac’s lips are soft, warm, and Mac is a fantastic kisser. Jack slides a hand into Mac’s soft blonde hair, runs his fingers through it. Jack turns Mac and pushes him up against the railing and kisses him until his lungs are burning. When he pulls away, Mac’s flushed, lips red, and Jack is seriously fucking gone on him, it’s ridiculous, and he can’t help himself. “I love you.” 

________ _ _ _ _

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Mac lets out a breathy laugh, slides his arms around Jack’s neck and kisses him gently. “Mm, I love you,” he whispers against Jack’s lips. 

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“I was hopin’ you’d say that,” he says and barely sees Mac grin before he’s kissing him again. 

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Mac lets out a soft noise in his throat, pulls Jack as close as he can get him, and feels whole for the first time in two years.

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End file.
